wvdeer4u

I found a rack and skull shed hunting a few years ago that was clean of meat but is stained brown from dirt and green from moss and was wondering if there is a way to clean it up or whiten it. The skull is pretty clean it just needs rinsed off but the rack is gren and brown. I don't know if I should try and bleach it or just clean it off and leave it like it is. The rack is white also it doesn't have it's normal coler. Maybe I could have a taxidermist coler it for me. Any info would help thanks.

strutnbuck

Sense the rack has bleached naturally, you can totally submerge it in 100% bleach for a day or two, if there is still staining, work it over with a medium bristle brush then submerge again for a day. Most will be as clean as a whistle the first try. You will have to have the antlers restaiined or do it yourself. Good luck!

M.Magis

Good grief, do NOT use bleach. You'd be further ahead to just throw it in the trash now. I'd try soaking in somewater for a few weeks to be certain all tissue is gone, and hopefully some of the dirt will dissolve. Rinse well and whiten with peroxide. The antlers can be colored with a variety of methods

johnkeltgen

Are you trying to clean the skull AND antlers or just the antlers? Cleaning the skull is easy... Sort of. I forgot the name of it, but you use hydrogen peroxide and either magnesium sulfate or hydrogen chloride (Ask your taxidermist, I forgot what the chemical is... It's the same stuff the barbers use to lighten hair). Anyway, once you figure out what chemical to use (it's in a powder form, by the way), you make a paste out of that and the hydrogen peroxide. Lay that stuff on the skull REAL thick, taking care NOT to get any on the antlers. Leave the paste on overnight and gently spray it off with water the next day. That should leave the skull nice and white. If it doesn't, there's little you can do.

If it's just the antlers you want to clean, try using some white gas to get all the stuff out. Not much, just a little bit on a white rag and use some elbow grease. If it doesn't come clean and the dirt isn't very deep-set into the antlers, you can try LIGHTLY sanding out the dirty areas.

If the antlers are already bleached from the weather (naturally bleached) and dried out really bad, you can use some very light antler stain to make them look "freshly dropped". To make the stain look good, make sure you put on a LIGHT coat and then wipe it RIGHT AWAY. Stain gets darker the longer you leave it set. The more pourous the antler, the more quickly the dye from the stain will set in. Once you get the stain to a color you like (keep adding layers of stain until it hits the right color), let it dry. Once the stain has dried, take some crocus cloth or steel wool and feather the antlers... Make the tips nearly white and make the antlers darker the farther down you go.

Either way, when you get the antlers (and skull, for that matter) looking as good as you can, spray a VERY LIGHT coat of clear, satin finish (spray, not brush) laquer or varnish. I stress "VERY LIGHT", you don't want too much of that on there or the antlers and skull will turn kind of yellow. A LIGHT coat of varnish will help to protect the skull and antlers from drying out. Hope this helps!!!!!!!

strutnbuck

MMagis, I have done at least 2 dozen pick-up skulls that way and have had no problems or reasons to throw them in the trash... Everybody has their way and this is mine. Until it fails, I will continue it. The antler were already bleached, so bleaching was not going to hurt it...

M.Magis

Trust me, it will. I find it hard to believe you haven't had any flaking yet. Bleach will eat away at the bone, and continue to do so over time.

strutnbuck

Well, I havn't heard of that. Not saying it isn't true or couldn't happen, but I have not experienced it yet. I do seal the skulls after evrything is done, perhaps this is why I do not experience flaking.... Don't know, but I have had some for atleast 10 years now with no problems..